A Marauder's Heart
by Chasemoony
Summary: The story of how our favourite werewolf and a clumsy young auror fell in love. Set during the OotP, HBP and DH.
1. At First Sight

**I accidentally forgot to add the disclaimer the first time... oh well, better late than never. Here we go...**

**Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to the amazing Ms J.K Rowling!**

**P.S. Thanxs to everyone who has read this story so far. You guys are great!**

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Nymphadora Tonks hummed happily as she made her way through muggle London. Her distressed jeans, bright green t-shirt and blue hair attracted a lot of funny looks from the business suit clad muggles that she walked past. Oblivious to their stares, she adjusted her travelling cloak that was draped over her arm and quickened her pace slightly. Today was her first meeting in the Order and she didn't want to be late.

"_You can't hurry love; no you just have to wait!" _She sang, remembering back to when Kingsley had first pull her aside in the auror headquarters, telling her that he needed to discuss a wizard who was cross breeding fwoopers and nogtails.

"Isn't that the Magical Creature Department's problem?" she had asked.

"Not if the wizard might be connected to the illegal imports that have been coming in from Africa." He had replied in his slow, calm voice.

Later they had met up at the Leaky Cauldron and Mad-eye joined them not long after. Tonks had been ecstatic to see her old mentor after his extended time being held captive in his own trunk. Of course, she had believed that he was teaching...

Mad-eye and Kingsley had told her about the Order of the Phoenix and finished off their speech with an invitation to join.

"People with your talents and ability are hard to come by so we make a point to snap them up as quickly as we can." Mad-eye had added while she thought their request over.

Of course she had said yes. Tonks wouldn't willingly give up the opportunity to work against Voldemort, especially since the ministry was being so blind about his return. Working under Dumbledore's orders was also a thrilling idea. Yes, that was it. But she wouldn't deny that Mad-eyes words had had a tiny bit to do with it. After all, it was flattering to think that, young as she was, she had something they wanted.

"_She said love don't come easy, it's a game of give and take..."_

Tonks was so caught up in her own thoughts that she didn't notice a tall figure step out in front of her before she crashed right into him, sending them both tumbling to the hard ground. All the books that had been in his hands were scattered around them.

"I am so sorry!" She gasped, scrambling to her feet. The tall figure getting up in front of her turned out to be a man. He looked to be in his mid-thirties, despite the gray that threaded through his light brown hair. His pants and jersey were a little shabby but not unlike Tonks' own pair of favourite jeans. He met her eyes and the corner of his mouth quirked up in a shy half smile. Tonks blushed as she realized she had been staring...with her mouth open. She shut it quickly and started to pick up the books that he had been carrying. She handed them to him wordlessly, her face still burning.

"Thank you." He said in a low, slightly hoarse voice.

"No problem. Hand on, I missed one..." Just as Tonks started forward to get the book they had overlooked, she tripped over her cloak, which was still on the ground, and fell forward. The stranger's books fell to the ground yet again as he dropped them to catch her. Tonks wanted to die. The man made sure that she was safely back on her own two feet before he let go of his, rather tight, hold around her waist.

"I'm so sorry." Tonks moaned again, wishing the ground would swallow her up.

"Don't worry about it." He said calmly, though his face too was quite red. "Maybe I should pick them up this time, yeah?"

Tonks closed her eyes and nodded.

"Erm." The man cleared his throat nervously. "I think this is yours."He said when she opened her eyes. He was balancing his books in one hand and holding her cloak out in his other.

"Thanks," she whispered taking it and shaking it out to get rid of the dirt.

"Hang on..." The man said, his eyes darting from her cloak to the handle of her wand sticking out from the waistband of her jeans.

"I-er... I really have to go." Tonks stammered quickly. "Sorry again." She all but ran away from the man. "And I'm going to be late." She added to herself. Although she could practically see the place where Kingsley had told her the Order was hidden, she knew that it would be stupid to go straight there if there was a chance that the man was still watching her. Especially if he knew that she was a witch...and he probably did, judging by his reaction when he saw her wand.

Taking a long loop around, Tonks finally stood where a grimy house had just popped out from between two muggle dwellings. Looking around furtively, she walked up the steps and turned the creepy handle. She slipped inside and closed the door behind her. It was very dark inside and smelled of damp carpets.

"That'll be Nymphadora." Came Molly Weasley's voice from somewhere ahead of her. "Remus, please would you be a darling and bring her here."

"Lumos," Tonks muttered.

Her wand light illuminated the damp hallway in front of her and someone at the end of it. She walked forwards, trying to look mature and ready to meet the rest of the order when she fell head long over an awful troll leg. She remained airborne an abnormal amount of time before she crashed to the ground, her head colliding painfully with the mouldy floor.

Her loud "OUCH!" was drowned out by an awful shrieking that had suddenly filled the house and made the windows rattle and Tonks' head pound viciously. Two men hurried towards her, one sped past to drag curtains over the hideous painting that was screaming at the top of her canvas lungs while the other pulled Tonks to her feet.

"Are you alright?"

Heat flooded her face as she realized her saviour was none other than the man she had just bumped into on the street. He seemed to have noticed the same thing as he checked to see if she was alright.

"I should have known. You must be Nymphadora Tonks." He stated, his mouth curling into a small amused smile.

"Just Tonks." She muttered.

" Help?" shouted the other man. He was still trying to cover the portrait of the mad woman. Remus and Tonks quickly stunned the other portraits that had started yelling and Remus hurried over to help the dark-hair man with the curtains.

Tonks heaved a sigh of relief as the shouting stopped. The dark man pushed sweaty strands of hair off his forehead and turned to smile down at her.

"Long time no see cuz." He greeted, pulling her into a bone cracking hug.

"Sirius!" Tonks all but yelled when she recognized her cousin. Tonks had briefly worried about how it would be to see Sirius again, especially since he had spent most of her childhood locked up in Azkaban. But she needn't had worried, he was just as friendly and relaxed as he had been when she was seven.

"I see you know Remus already. I wondered why he was looking so excited." He joked. Remus scowled at Sirius, who winked back.

"I actually managed to single handedly ruin Remus' books with no weapons other than my super clumsiness." Tonks admitted.

"That's my cousin, the charmer." Sirius said proudly, slinging an arm around her shoulders. "She's a keeper." He said, waggling his eyebrows at Remus.

"They're waiting for us to start the meeting," Remus said, choosing to ignore Sirius. Although, Tonks was sure she had detected a faint blush on his cheeks before he had turned away.

"Don't let his goody-two shoes act fool you, Nymphy." Sirius said, loudly enough for Remus to hear. "Moony wasn't a marauder for nothing."


	2. A Secret?

**This chapter is dedicated to PotterNerd94, That One Mistress Marauder and MsTonksLupin for their amazing reviews. You guys are awesome!**

**Disclaimer: J.K Rowling owns all.**

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Tonks leant against the long meeting table and sighed in relief. She was proud to say that she had made it through the whole order meeting without making a fool of herself once. She had even come up with a few good ideas that had made the other members look at her with some kind of surprise, if not a little respect. Most of the members anyway,*_cough_* Severus *_cough_*. Nevertheless, she was glad she had made a good impression.

"Good one on that lawn idea." Came a quiet voice next to her. Tonks twirled around, knocking a chair flying but managing to keep herself upright with a little help from the table.

She found Remus watching her with raised eyebrows. He hid a smile as he nudged the fallen chair off his foot.

"Lawn idea?" Tonks asked, baffled.

"All-England Best Kept Suburban Lawn Competition, I believe."

"Oh right," She smiled as she remembered. "My grandmother on my dad's side was always complaining when she didn't get recognition for her garden. So I figured that it must be a big thing with muggles."

"That's not even the half of it," Remus leant towards her conspiratively. "I hear in some places you are not even allowed to walk on the grass." He whispered loudly.

Tonks let out an explosive giggle. "You're joking?"

"Nope." He said, straight faced. "They have little signs and everything."

"Who has little signs?" Sirius had wandered over to join them.

"The inmates of Azkaban." Remus said without missing a beat.

Sirius scowled as Tonks burst into hysterical laughter and a smile curled the side of Remus' mouth.

"Very funny. I can barely breathe for laughing."

Tonks felt the laughter die in her throat as she took in her cousins downcast expression. "What's wrong?"

Sirius looked at the floor and didn't answer.

"Sirius is angry that Dumbledore said he couldn't go fetch Harry." Remus explained quietly, earning himself a death glare from his friend.

Tonks looked intently at Sirius' face. "It's not going to last forever, you know."

Sirius looked torn between raging at Tonks and crying. He settled for a defeated sigh. "I know. I just need reminding very now and then." He seemed to want to say something else, but shook his head. "I'm tired; I might as well go to bed." He half-heartedly ruffled Tonks' hair before disappearing into the dark hallway. Tonks could hear him walking heavily up the stairs. She turned back to see Remus staring at the place where Sirius had disappeared with a concerned expression.

"I worry about Sirius." Remus told her. "If Dumbledore keeps putting restrictions on him, he will do something reckless."

"Harry couldn't be coming at a better time then." She commented. "Is there anything else I need to do before we fetch him?"

Remus shook his head. "No, just make sure you're here. Oh, and don't forget your broom." He looked sideways at her mischievously. "Please don't tell me that you're even more dangerous to be around when you're riding a broom?"

Tonks playfully swatted him on the chest. "I'll have you know that I was on the Hufflepuff quidditch team for a whole week before they threw me out for turning our captains robes pink. It was an accident, of course. Besides, I can be extremely graceful when I want to be."

Remus snorted, "And assaulting innocent strangers on the street while damaging their valuable books is just a well thought out disguise to mask your cat-like reflexes and general devious antics?"

"Exactly! It makes perfect sense when you think about it." Tonks said in mock seriousness. Then she realized what he had said. "Wait...did you say those books were valuable?"

"Hardly." He said with a light laugh. "They weren't even real books. Just transfigured Order notes."

Tonks exhaled in relief. "You know you really had me going there. I was getting ready to spend the rest of my days wandering around (in a guilt-ridden state might I add) through some arbitrary forest."

"Just for ruining my books?"

"Most defiantly."

"Well then," Remus said, smiling. "I'm glad they're not books then. I would be most unhappy if you were to leave the order and me, to the mercy of Severus Snape. Who else would roll their eyes dramatically every time he spoke?"

"You noticed that, did you?" Tonks said, feigning surprise.

Remus chuckled. "I think he did too."

"Oh well." She replied casually. "He never liked me anyway."

"You and the rest of the world." Remus opened his mouth to say something more but closed it abruptly when the object of their conversation approached.

Although she tried hard not to show it, Tonks inwardly cringed every time her ex-potions master came near her. The two of them had never gotten along well, despite her high marks in his subject. Tonks supposed he couldn't stand the idea of a Hufflepuff managing to make it into his Newts class. She also had a sneaky suspicion that he detested any form of cheerfulness and that included colour. After all, he stuck to black from head to toe, so it seemed to Tonks that he took colourful hair as a personal offence.

Without even acknowledging her, he turned to Remus. "Lupin." He started in clipped tones. "Dumbledore has asked me to confirm with you the amount of Wolfsbane you will need for your upcoming missions. It will take me a while to make so I need to know well in advance."

Tonks felt her heart miss a beat as she realized what Snapes words meant. Remus was a werewolf. Snape smirked and Tonks knew that he had purposely made sure to ask Remus in front of her so to tell her his secret. When she noticed Remus shifting uncomfortably and avoiding her gaze, obviously at a loss of what to say, she backed away from the pair.

"It's late and I still have to get home. Remus, I'll see you around." She mumbled, missing his hurt expression and Snapes triumphant one as she sped out of the dark house.

Within seconds Tonks was pacing around the lounge in her small cottage, her mind was reeling from what she had just found out. All her life she had been taught that werewolves were dangerous, no matter whether they were in human or wolf form. Yet here Remus was, perfectly normal and probably the most polite man Tonks had ever met. Her mind flickered to the shy half smile he had flashed her when they had first met on the street and to the strong warmth of his arm around her waist as he stopped her from falling. As easy as breathing, Tonks felt her old prejudices melt away and a new outlook on werewolves form. With that new outlook came the staggering guilt of leaving Remus alone to deal with Snape.

She smacked herself in the head. "Why?" She moaned. Tonks wouldn't be surprised if he refused to talk to her ever again, especially after she had run out of the house faster than if she had been faced with Lord Voldemort himself. "I'll just have to make it up to him." She told the cauldron in the corner of her room determinedly. "Find a way to let him know that I don't care. Yes! That's what I'll do! But I think I'm going to need help from a certain deranged cousin of mine."

The cauldron ignored her.


	3. Chocolate Cake and a Tail

**Thanks to all the people who reviewed the last chapter! You guys inspire me!**

**That One Mistress Marauder wonderfully suggested writing some of the story from Remus' point of view, to I gave it a try later on in this chapter. Hope you guys like...**

**Disclaimer: J.K Rowling owns everthing!**

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"I brought cake!" Tonks yelled as she burst into Grimauld Place's kitchen. A figure at the sink jumped and dropped their cup. Tea splattered the floor and broken pieces of china shot in every direction. Heat rose in Tonks' face when she realized the person was not her cousin but none other than Remus Lupin himself. When he looked at her, his face was quite emotionless but it looked like he was working very hard to keep it that way.

"I-err." Tonks stammered at he watched her warily. "Reparo." She muttered and the shards of china flew together, leaving a newly fixed cup lying on the ground. "I didn't know that you would be here."

"I'm staying here with Sirius." He said, still calm.

An awkward silence descended on the pair as Tonks searched frantically for something to say. She had not bargained on seeing him so soon but rather on having a few hours to compose the best apology that she could think of, with her cousins help of course, and then finding Remus to apologise. Making a split-second decision, she put the cake down on the table, walked up to Remus and wrapped her arms around him.

_When in doubt...hug. _She thought to herself. She wanted to show Remus that she wasn't afraid of him and when he relaxed into her hug, she knew that he had realized it.

She pulled away from him gently. "I'm so sorry." She said sincerely, looking straight into his clear blue eyes. "I reacted like a git, a prejudiced idiotic git." When he didn't say anything and continued to simply stare at her, Tonks' voice grew higher and she started to speak faster. "I gave Snape exactly the reaction he wanted. He just caught me off guard. I don't normally act like such a complete cow, it's just I was never one for surprises-"

"Nymphadora stop. It's alright." He interrupted, an amused smile playing around his lips.

"I'm so sorry!" She said quickly before he could stop her. "And don't call me Nymphadora." She added, stamping her foot. Suddenly Tonks was falling, having accidentally stepped on the tea cup that she had repaired earlier. Remus darted forward to help but only succeeded in being pulled down after her.

"Sorry."

Remus started to laugh. "You seem to be saying that to me a lot lately."

"Yeah well." Tonks grumbled, letting Remus help her to her feet. "Just put this on my tab of things that I have to make up to you."

"Actually." Remus started casually. "I have thought of something that I want..."

Tonks raised her eyebrows in interest, trying to understand why Remus' words made her heartbeat quicken. "Really?"

"Is that _chocolate _cake by any chance?"

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Remus watched Tonks intently, trying to understand how this witch could make him feel so awkward and self-conscious yet so comfortable and secure at the same time. And he still felt slightly warm from when he had flushed with pleasure at her hug. _You're too old to be feeling this giddy. _He told himself sternly. _You're not a hormonal teenager anymore! You're grown man in control of his emotions. Y_et he couldn't help remembering the feel of Tonks' body against his when they had accidentally fallen to the kitchen floor. He snapped out of his revie when he noticed Tonks looking at him with an amused smile.

"You're staring." She stated with amusement.

"Sorry." He quickly took another bite of cake to hide his embarrassment.

"It's alright." She said cheerfully. "I know I'm a freak."

"Don't say that!" Remus winced as the words came out more harshly than he had intended.

"Relax Remus, I was joking!" Tonks said with a small giggle. "Besides, I'm proud of what I am. Having something that most other people don't is not always a bad thing you know."

Remus got the distinct impression that she wasn't just referring to her morphing abilities. "Easy for you to say. You don't turn into a monster once a month." He said quietly. Instantly he regretted his words, cursing how easy it was to talk to Tonks.

"Actually, I do." She leaned forward and whispered, "I get terrible PMS. My mother always says that there is no living with me during those days."

Remus couldn't help it, he started to laugh.

"Now when I'm serious, you laugh." Tonks said, trying to look offended and failing miserably.

"Well, when I think about it, the two afflictions do have many things in common..." Remus mused, still chuckling.

"If that's true, then I got the short end of the stick." Tonks complained. "I don't get a tail."

"That can easily be fixed." Remus said smoothly, pulling out his wand. "What kind would you like?"

"Such a gentlemen." She replied just as calmly. "But I'm afraid I'll have to take you up on your kind offer another time. You see, a tail wouldn't match my outfit today."

Remus took in her violet hair, matching t-shirt, tight jeans and heavy boots (at the same time ignoring the tiny voice that was telling him that he was looking at more than just her clothes) and shrugged casually. "Another time then." He pretended to return is wand to his pocket, but instead did a complicated little non-verbal charm under the table. Fighting a smile, he watched as a long purple striped tail appeared behind Tonks, drifting slowly from side to side as she finished the rest of her cake.

"Moony, where are you? You left to get the hangover potion and never came back you complete git!" Sirius' voice drifted down to them as he made his way to the kitchen. "When I get rid of this headache, I'm going to find you and chop off your- Tonks?" Sirius looked from his best friend to is cousin. "When did you get here?"

"About half an hour ago. Cake?"

"Just now, thanks." He ambled over to the other side of the kitchen, yanked open a drawer and pulled out a small bottle. He shot Remus a glare and downed the whole bottle. He returned to the table, plonking himself down next to Remus and pulling the rest of the cake (of which more than half was still left) and started to shovel it into his mouth. Remus shook his head and rolled his eyes at Tonks, who hastily turned her laugh into a not-too-convincing cough.

Sirius saw their exchange. "He wasn't acting so cocky last night, after drinking more than two bottles of firewiskey all by himself." Sirius told Tonks.

She turned to Remus with her eyebrows raised. "Two bottles? Impressive!"

Sirius snorted. "It would be more impressive if he drank them for fun and not to drown out his sorrows."

Tonks looked confused. "Sorrows?"

Remus shot Sirius a warning look, but Sirius either didn't see it or ignored it. "Yeah, thats the only time Moony here really drinks. He's really no fun. So Moony, I guessed something upset you at the meeting yesterday, eh?"

Remus avoided looking at Tonks' slightly horrified expression, he knew that she had realized why he had done it."

"Remus-" she started, but he cut her off.

"Don't even think of apologising for something you didn't do." He sighed and forced a light tone. "Sirius makes everything sound worse than it is. " He glanced sideways at his friend. "He just can't see that I have a friend who is a terrible influence."

"Haha," Sirius said in a dry voice. Suddenly his eyes started to move from side to side as he tracked the movement of Tonks' tail that he seemed to just have noticed.

Remus stood suddenly. "Well, I'm just going send an owl to Mad-Eye, I need to confirm the amount of people coming to pick up Harry tonight..." He trailed off, leaving the room just in time."

"WHAT TAIL?"

Remus dived into the library

" REMUS!"


	4. Faded

**Hi Guys!**

**I'm so sorry for taking so long to upload! My muse disappeared and left me stranded. This chapters not as good or as long as I had hoped but hey, its a start...**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter!**

**Usual disclaimer applies...**

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Remus glanced over to where Tonks sat slumped in her chair. His eyes skimmed over her dull rose coloured hair to linger on her own pale gray eyes that stared tiredly into her butterbeer. Remus realized that the cheerful and interested show she had put on during Harry's collection had just been a good cover up for the stress she had really been feeling.

He watched as a smile pulled at her mouth and her eyes lit up as she once again declined food from Molly. Her familiar laugh carried over to where he was sitting but as the Weasley matriarch turned her back, the fire in Tonks eyes died and her smile was replaced with tiny stress lines that framed her lovely mouth. Lines that shouldn't appear on a face so young.

Making a split second decision, Remus got up and walked over to her, all the while extremely conscious of Sirius' eyes on him. He sat down without looking at Tonks, although he could feel her, along with Sirius, Kingsley, Hestia, Molly and Arthur, watching him curiously. He took a sip of tea and ignored them; hoping Tonks would understand that he didn't want to talk to her with everyone else listening. She seemed to get the idea because she turned her attention back on the drink in front of her.

Sirius flashed Remus a lopsided smile before clearing his throat loudly. "So Kingsley, Just in case someone happens to ask me, where am I currently in hiding? According to the Auror office?"

His question caused a series of laughs and eye rolls before Kingsley launched into a long winded speech explaining the details on Sirius' case in the Aurors offices. Molly sighed slightly, her shoulders drooping as she readied herself for a typical Kingsley speech, but she gained some of her enthusiasm when Hestia asked her for her grilled potatoes charm.

Once he was sure that no one was watching, Remus turned to Tonks. She smiled warmly at him which Remus had to tell himself did NOT cause a strange swooping sensation in his belly.

"How you doing?" He murmured, just so she could hear.

Tonks gave him a look of polite puzzlement. "I'm fine," she replied just as softly. After watching her, Remus knew that the forced bright smile that accompanied her words meant that she was feeling the exact opposite.

He inclined his head slightly. "When I first started in the Order, I felt like I had gotten myself in way over my head. I think the reality of what you're doing only sinks in later, after more than a few sleepless nights." He gave a humourless smile, "And I didn't even have to worry about a day job."

Tonks gave a light laugh. "Remus, I'm fine. I know everyone thinks that just because I'm young, I can't cope. But really-"

She stopped talking when Remus caught a strand of her hair between two fingers. They both stared at the lock that had been so vivid just that morning but had faded by the night light.

Tonks' eyes flickered to his, their pale depths panicked at the idea that someone might have found the crack in her cheerful front.

She swallowed hard and cleared her throat, "I'm fine." She pushed herself away from the table, away from Remus, and flung her magenta cloak around her shoulders. "Night all!" She called, only a hint of weariness in her bright voice. The room's occupants called back as she left the grim house, leaving Remus to stare miserably at her half-drunk butterbeer while Sirius shot him an extremely frustrated glare.


	5. Green Slimey Cloth

**Everything belongs to Jo Rowling!**

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Tonks looked up at the narrow door and took a deep steadying breath. She couldn't avoid Grimmauld Place and its inhabitants (namely Remus) any longer. The last thing she wanted was for Remus to think that she was a coward as well as weak. Tonks straightened her shoulders, swept back her emerald green bangs and tip-toed into the house.

_My new self-confidence would be so much more impressive if I wasn't creeping in here, _Tonks thought, crinkling her nose. _A purposeful stride would have been more effective..._

Nevertheless, Tonks sighed with relief when she passed the dreaded trolls leg without making a sound. She was still smiling smugly to herself when her boot came into contact with a slimy green cloth, causing her to spiral wildly into the staircases banister. She clung to it for dear life, biting off her startled yell. Hanging there for a moment, Tonks eyed Mrs Black's portrait wearily. Satisfied that the old bat hadn't woken up she punched the air in celebration of her newly discovered lightning fast reflexes.

Someone cleared their throat softly from one of the doorways. It was Remus (_Of course, _Tonks thought irritably), leaning casually against the doorframe with a huge book tucked under his arm and a smile dancing about his lips.

"Hey Remus," Tonks whispered, wondering how long he had been standing there.

"Good afternoon, Nymphadora. I haven't seen you in a while."

"Oh...um, I've been really busy." Tonks answered swiftly, hunting around for a way to change the subject. "Where on earth did that bloody cloth come from?"

Remus raised an eyebrow. "Upstairs probably. Molly has the kids cleaning the house."

"Oh yeah, she invited me to come help (_ages ago but I've been avoiding you, _she added mentally). The house looks good so far."

Remus hummed non-commitedly. "You're looking a great deal happier than the last time I saw you."

_So we're back to that? _"I was having an off day." Tonks replied cheerfully. "Even I can't be happy all the time. In this particular incidence I blame my morose mood on a truly awful combination of sushi for breakfast, followed by a ride on one of those muggle rollacosters ending off by seeing a clown get hit by a snake carrying truck while I nibbled on popcorn flavoured candyfloss."

Remus gave a disbelieving snort. "You had breakfast here and then spent the rest of the day in order briefing. Besides, did you really expect me to believe that excuse?"

Tonks grinned. "No, not really. You're way too smart for that excuse to work." Her expression grew serious. "But I do want you to stop worrying about me. Everyone has off days and that was just one of mine."

He nodded and took a deep breath. "Look Nymphadora, I'm sorry if it seemed to you that I thought you couldn't cope because you're young or female or whatever else you may have assumed. All I ever meant was for you to realize that you never have to feel alone and that if you ever needed anything, a shoulder to cry on or someone to share chocolate cake with (Tonks smiled at that) that you could come to me."

"Thanks Remus." Tonks cleared her throat, trying to clear the sudden tightness that had appeared, and gestured vaguely at the stairs. "I have to go help with a goul in the attic."

Remus smiled. "See you later." Watching Tonks' figure retreat up the stairs, Remus knew that he had reached a point of no return. He was crazy about the young witch and there was nothing he could do to change that. Suddenly her boots reappeared on the staircase.

"Remus?"

"Yes?" He replied, ignoring the way his heart leapt at her saying his name.

Tonks looked at him sternly, a glint of mischief in her eyes. "Call me Nymphadora once more and I will personally make sure that Severus gets a Remus essence infused love potion slipped into his drink at the next meeting." She was satisfied to see Remus wince. "Am I understood Professor Lupin?"

"Yes Ma'am." Remus replied with a mock salute.


End file.
